Search Iowa's political blogs

Monday, November 13, 2006

Politically Speaking: Salem shines light on Republican Party

Steve Salem shed light on the inner workings of a political party, something that rarely gets publicly aired on the pages of a newspaper. His lambast of the derogatory influence of the Christian right wing in the Woodbury County Republican Party, which ran in our paper on Thursday, carries considerable weight, since Salem heads the county party. Salem said "Christian fascists" who have taken over the local party "are moral absolutists, who take the approach that if you don't take my position every step of the way, not only will I not support you, but I will destroy you." ... On the local talk radio show Friday, Hoffmann said the story got more play than it deserved -- it ran across the top of Page One -- and said he would help any county party that needed it, if he knew of a need. ... In other Web site reaction, Republicans said they should not check their religious views at the voting booth and that Salem's remarks were sour grapes from a losing chairman. On the flip side, Salem was lauded for airing the schism, that a realistic Republican self-analysis had finally come forth. One person wrote "Hoffmann is in denial, is blind" or spinning facts.